Page 311
Chapter 21 Micro­entrepreneurs: Women’s Role in the Development of Africa 21.1 Introduction Hassana lived in a small village in West Africa. She was a widow with five children. With so
many mouths to feed, she often lacked money to buy clothes and school supplies for her
children. She had no money saved in case someone got sick. Sometimes even buying food was
difficult.
But Hassana had an idea for a small business, or micro-enterprise. She wanted to bake bread and
sell it in the local street market. Hassana borrowed money from an organization set up to help
women start businesses. She used the money to buy an oven. With her earnings from selling
bread, Hassana was able to repay the loan. She was also able to slowly grow her business and
take better care of her family.
Small business owners like Hassana are called micro-entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are people
who start businesses. Micro means tiny. Micro-entrepreneurs are people who start very small
businesses. Hassana’s business may be tiny, but the effect that micro-entrepreneurs are having in
developing countries is not so small. Hassana’s story is one of many about women in Africa who
are making life better by starting new businesses.
In this chapter, you will learn about some of the challenges faced by poor women in Africa. You
will read how some women are pulling themselves out of poverty by becoming microentrepreneurs. And you will find out how these women, by helping themselves, are changing
their communities.
Essential Question
How are women micro-entrepreneurs in developing countries changing their communities?
Page 312
21.2 The Geographic Setting In this chapter, you will visit three countries in Africa. All three are located south of the Sahara.
Mali is in West Africa. Uganda is in East Africa. Botswana lies in the center of Southern Africa.
A Developing Country Most of Africa is made up of developing countries. Twenty-one of the
world’s 30 poorest countries are in Africa. Nearly half of the Africans in these countries live on
less than $1 per day.
Poverty makes survival a daily challenge. In 2004, an estimated 200 million Africans were
undernourished. This means they did not get enough food to lead a healthy life. Lack of food has
stunted, or slowed, the growth of about a third of all African children.
Disease is a serious challenge. Malaria, for example, affects people in many parts of Africa.
Mosquitoes spread the parasite that causes this illness. Malaria can be deadly, especially to
children. Health experts estimate that every 30 seconds, a child in Africa dies from malaria.
Natural disasters create other challenges. In recent years, drought has struck many African
countries. The lack of rain has led to crop failures for farmers. For pastoral nomads, it has led to
the death of their animal herds. The result has been severe food shortages.
War is another serious challenge. Many countries, like Rwanda, Liberia, and Angola, have been
torn apart by civil war. A civil war is a war between groups living in the same country. Each of
these conflicts has left hundreds of thousands of people dead.
Women Face Added Challenges These challenges affect most Africans. But they often weigh
heaviest on women. One reason for this is Africa’s traditional gender-based division of labor.
This is the division of work in a society based on a person’s sex, or gender.
Traditionally, men in Africa are the money earners. They earn money by raising cash crops or
working for wages. Women are responsible for the care of the family. This often includes
growing food on small plots of land to feed their families. As important as this work is, it does
not earn money.
Poor women who need to earn money face added challenges.
One is a lack of education. In 2002, nearly half of African women over the age of 15 could not
read. Few jobs are open to them.
Often the only place poor women can find to make money is in the informal economy. People in
the informal economy exchange goods and services without much government control. They
might, for instance, sell food in a street market or trade childcare for firewood. They do not have
a license for their business. And they do not pay taxes on any money they might make.
For many African women, the informal economy has become an area of opportunity. In the
informal economy, women can start a new business without a lot of money. In this chapter, you
will meet some of these women micro-entrepreneurs.
Page 313
Geoterms gender-based division of labor: the division of work into two categories based on sex, or
gender. The result is that men and women do different kinds of work.
informal economy: the part of the economy in which goods and services are exchanged outside
of government control. People who work in the informal economy often sell
goods on the street or in a street market.
micro-enterprise: a very small business with few or no employees
micro-entrepreneur: a person who starts and runs a very small business
Page 314
21.3 Grinding Peanuts in Rural Mali The sound of wood hitting wood is common in many villages in Mali. It is the sound of women
preparing two of Mali’s most common foods for cooking: grains and peanuts. It takes a lot of
energy to grind these crops to the point that they can be made into meals.
Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world. Much of its population lives in rural villages.
Women work especially hard. But things are changing in some villages in Mali. And women
micro-entrepreneurs are leading the way.
A Machine Changes the Way Women Work In the village of Sanankoroni in Mali, a machine
grinds peanuts so the village women do not have to pound them by hand. The machine grinds the
peanuts much faster. It also does a better job.
Grinding peanuts is just one of the things that this machine, called a multifunctional platform,
can do. The multifunctional platform is a simple, sturdy machine that can be used in many ways.
Its heart is a small engine that runs on diesel fuel or on oil from plants. Rubber belts connect the
engine to different tools. The people of Sanankoroni connect their engine to a grinding tool. This
tool grinds their peanuts into peanut butter.
The multifunctional platform was the brainchild of a Swiss inventor. He believed that it would
make women’s lives easier and change entire villages. He was right. His invention has changed
how women like Biutou Doumbia spend their time. Doumbia used to spend three days grinding
100 pounds of peanuts by hand. Now the machine grinds that amount in a little more than an
hour. Doumbia uses some of the time she has gained to grind extra peanuts. She then sells this
peanut butter in the local market.
The women of Sanankoroni bought the machine with the help of the United Nations
Development Programme. The UNDP is an international organization that works to reduce
poverty in developing countries. The women formed a group called the Sanankoroni Women’s
Association. This group raised $2,000, or half the cost of the machine. The UNDP provided the
rest of the money.
Page 315
Earning While Learning New Skills The Sanankoroni Women’s Association has started a peanutgrinding business with their multifunctional platform. Customers from Sanankoroni and nearby
villages pay a fee to use the machine to grind peanuts. The women earn money by running the
machine for their customers.
The new business owners have learned many new skills. They have learned how to run the
machine and keep it in good repair. They have learned how to set up schedules for their workers
and customers. And they have learned how to handle the money they earn so that they have
enough to buy fuel and to pay their workers.
Improving the Quality of Life In Mali, 300 villages now have a multifunctional platform. The
quality of life in these communities has improved as a result. For example, families in
Sanankoroni have more time together now that women do not spend all day grinding peanuts by
hand.
Attitudes toward education have changed. Before the machine came, only 9 women in this
village of 460 people could read and write. A year after the machine arrived, more than 40
women were attending classes to learn how to read. Girls who used to stay home
to help with chores are now going to school.
The machine has improved the lives of men as well. The Sanankoroni Women’s Association
hired several men to work as mechanics. Their job is to maintain and repair the machine. “It’s
better than farming,” says one mechanic.
In the village of Mountougoula, women bought an electrical generator to connect to their
machine. A generator is used to produce electricity. They also set up a lighting system in their
village to use electricity produced by their generator. The lights have made the village safer at
night. Storeowners are making more money now that people can shop after dark.
One man in the village is teaching his daughters to read at night. He has seen for himself that
women can change the world. All they need is education and encouragement.
Page 316
21.4 Selling in Uganda’s “Poor Man’s Market” Kalerwe market in Uganda is an amazing place to visit. From the center of the market, stalls
stretch as far as the eye can see. Buyers roam the muddy, crowded lanes between the stalls.
Sellers shout information about the food, goods, and services they have to sell. Kalerwe is known
as the “poor man’s market.” But it attracts all kinds of people from nearby Kampala, the capital
of Uganda. They are drawn to the market by its bargain prices.
Markets like this are common in Uganda and most other African countries. They are part of the
informal economy. People can sell goods and services in these markets without having to get a
business license. Often they can pocket the money they make without having to pay taxes. Many
successful women micro-entrepreneurs got their start in such markets. Margaret Saajjabi is one
of them.
Soap and Drinks Fund a Micro-enterprise Margaret Saajjabi runs profitable micro-enterprises in
Uganda. She owns a quarter acre of land in Kalerwe market. She rents 27 market spaces to other
people. Some of her tenants have built stalls in the space. Others sell their goods and services in
the open air. Her tenants include hairdressers, electricians, vegetable sellers, and cooks.
Saajjabi was born into a very large family. She was in high school when her father told her there
was not enough money for her to continue her education. She left school and worked for the
police and then as a telephone operator. But Saajjabi wanted her own business.
She got her start by selling laundry soap and bottled soft drinks. Because she had no money to
buy goods, she talked sellers into letting her sell their products. She got a small percentage of the
money she took in from customers. Slowly she saved the money she earned. Eventually she had
enough to buy land in Kalerwe market.
Page 317
Saajjabi has found many ways to use this land. In addition to renting out market spaces, she has
set up a water-selling business there. She sells water in large cans to local people. She also
created a parking lot that holds 50 cars. People who come to Kalerwe pay to park there.
Saajjabi found that women face special challenges in business. One challenge is getting the
money needed to start or expand a business. Men in Uganda are able to borrow start-up money
from other men. But few men will loan money to women. To get around this problem, Saajjabi
created a savings club with several other women. The women in the club help one another save
their money. And when they need a loan, they borrow from other women in the club.
Supporting an Extended Family Margaret Saajjabi is a good example of how one woman’s
success can benefit many others. In her case, the people who benefit the most are members of her
large family. She supports 6 children of her own. She is also helping to raise 19 nieces and
nephews.
Most of these children are in school. Saajjabi believes that both girls and boys need a good
education. She also believes that all children should learn the value of work. Her children,
nieces, and nephews all come to Kalerwe market to work during their school holidays.
Creating New Economic Opportunities Saajjabi’s success has rippled outward and helped others
in her community. She has hired six guards for her parking business. She has plans to build more
shops and to hire young women to work for her. In addition, the
people who rent space from her now have a way to make money for their families.
Saajjabi encourages other women to start their own businesses. “You have to be confident,” she
says when asked for advice. “Develop the skills of your trade. Don’t beg off and say, ‘I’m just a
woman.’”
If Saajjabi had thought that way, she would still be selling someone else’s soap and soft drinks.
Page 318
21.5 Cooking Up Comfort Food in Botswana Kgosi lives and works in Gabarone. This busy city is the capital of Botswana, a country in
southern Africa. But Kgosi grew up in a rural village. At lunchtime, he used to long for a hot
dish of stampa (shredded beef) or papa (mixed corn and beans). These are “comfort foods” that
he grew up with. But the only restaurants near his workplace in Gabarone were fast-food chains.
One day Kgosi looked down the street and saw a colorfully painted caravan, or trailer. The sign
above it read “Mama’s Fast Food.” Wonderful smells were drifting out of the caravan. Kgosi
knew at once that the foods of his childhood were cooking inside.
A Used Trailer Becomes a Street-Side Restaurant Kgosi is typical of many people in Gabarone.
They grew up in the country and then moved to the capital to find work. Most eat breakfast and
lunch near their workplaces. This has created an opportunity for many women in the city. These
micro-entrepreneurs have opened restaurants in caravans. The caravans are similar to vacation
trailers that families in the United States might use to go camping.
A woman must do several things to open such a restaurant. First she needs to buy a caravan.
Most are purchased in neighboring South Africa. Because of the cost of the caravans, women
often have to borrow money from parents or family members. Others have to save money for
years before they can buy one.
The caravan must then be converted into a restaurant. Most come with a small stove and a cooler
already installed. The women hire someone to build shelves for dishes and racks to hold the gas
tanks needed to fuel the stove.
Page 319
Finally, a woman must find a place to park her caravan. Any place where many people work and
shop is a good location. After choosing a good spot, the owner removes the caravan’s wheels.
The result is an instant street-side restaurant. At most caravans, people eat outside under a canvas
canopy. They sit on plastic chairs at plastic patio tables to enjoy a meal that reminds them of
home.
Creating Jobs Along with Food Successful caravan owners make enough money to repay their
loans and expand their business. Some save up enough money to buy a small truck. This makes it
easier to buy supplies in South Africa, where prices are usually lower.
As their businesses grow, some women are able to hire workers. Most are family members who
help cook, clean, and transport supplies. Some micro-entrepreneurs also create opportunities for
other women who want to start their own business. For example, a restaurant owner might
prepare “box lunches” for another woman to sell in a different part of the city. The arrangement
benefits both women.
The families of micro-entrepreneurs receive many benefits. Some relatives get jobs. Many
women use the money they make to send their children to school. Some have been able to buy
land and build a home.
The people of Botswana also benefit. Street-side restaurants allow them to buy a traditional meal
for low prices anywhere in the capital. As one customer put it, “They are dishing up African
culture for city folks who like to eat what they grew up with.”
21.6 Beginning to Think Globally In this chapter, you learned that women in Africa face many challenges. Poverty is widespread.
However, gender-based division of labor makes it hard for women to earn money. You have met
micro-entrepreneurs who have started small businesses in the informal economy. Through their
micro-enterprises, these women are helping to pull their families and communities out of
poverty.
Women micro-entrepreneurs can be found in every country. Most face similar problems. One
problem is finding the money needed to start a business. Often the amounts are small. Still,
banks are generally unwilling to make loans to the poor.
Many groups have been formed to make small business loans to poor people. The average loan is
usually less than $100. Because the amounts are so small, these groups are called micro-credit
organizations.
Micro-credit organizations often make loans to groups of women. No one in the group can take
out the next loan until everyone’s first loan is repaid. The group makes sure each woman repays
her loan.
As you look at the map of micro-credit organizations in the next section, think about how these
loans can change lives.
Page 320
21.7 Global Connections The map shows where micro-credit organizations make the most loans worldwide. You can learn
about these loans in the table under the map.
In what parts of the world are micro-credit organizations most active? Why might this be so?
Micro-credit organizations are most active in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Most banks in
these regions do not make loans to poor people. Micro-credit organizations have stepped in to
help poor people get start-up loans. More than 500 million people in developing countries own
small businesses. Many of these micro-entrepreneurs got their start with a small business loan.